Israeli Math Argues For An End to Gaza Blockade

Remove tunneling for food incentives and tunnels will be only for weapons and missiles.

The blockade of Gaza must end. The Gazan's term it a "siege", which connotes an effort to break a population's will through starvation. There is no reported current food shortage as was characterized by the 2006 to 2010 blockade period., following a June 2010 lifting of restrictions of food and consumer goods imports.

I was doubtful of these claims, as the Israeli government claims to adequate humanitarian supplies. The court-ordered release of the Israeli Defense Ministry's own estimates documents the observed truck deliveries, 17% of 2006 levels while the population has grown an estimated 13% and food needs increased during the the 2006 to 2010 period.

By the Israeli Defense Ministry’s caloric calculations of how many trucks of food to allow into Gaza, actual delivery fell to only 63% of what is needed to prevent malnutrition for a Gaza Strip population estimated at 1,476,294 in 2007 and current estimates are 1.7 million (17%growth). Without smuggled food entering through the tunnels (as documented in this month's National Geographic Magazine), by the Defense Ministry’s own estimate, during the the 2006 to 2010 period malnutrition in Gaza, but for smuggled food, might have been rampant.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Health officials undertook nutrition estimates which led to the conclusion that a daily shipment of 106 trucks to the Gaza Strip per business day would suffice for supplying its residents with their “daily humanitarian portion,” that is, to prevent malnutrition. By comparison, before June 2007, on average, more than 400 trucks entered the Gaza Strip every day. From June 2007 to Sept. 2012 just 67 trucks on average to enter Gaza per business day during the the 2006 and 2010 period.. The Israeli Defense Ministry document was released two month ago after a long court effort by Gisha.

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